The equipment that I used to record my footage were Sony HXR-MC2000E and a tripod. This combination worked very well for me as the camera saved the recorded footage on its 60GB internal flash drive. Because of my method of filming (continuously filming cat's behaviour), I required a lot of memory space and was very lucky to be provided with this type of equipment.
In addition to this, the camera was able to be plugged in and charging during the filming, and because there was no need for me to move long distances with the equipment, I was able to film for a very long time without exhausting its battery life. Thanks to John's room, the charger was able to stretch across his entire room, so I was able to manoeuvre to adjust to a certain angle and get the best shots possible.
Another feature that I really appreciated was the ability to zoom in or out when filming; this allowed me to capture the best moments of the cats without having to halt the recording and continue once the distance has been adjusted.
The animals were often very active, but with the Sony HXR-MC2000E it was able to focus sharply on moving objects, and produced very good quality footage even when the moment was at its most fragile.
Although I wasn't moving around a lot with the camera, its steady shot feature provided very still imagery, making future masking and editing easier. Because from my previous attempts on a similar task (matching subject and scenery shots together) I was unsuccessful due to various movement going on in the shot, and it made the editing much more difficult as I had to still the cat when trying to match the background shot.
To record the cats, I arranged a free weekend for myself and John so that I was able to come in early with the equipment ready. I had to use the entire day so that there were regular breaks between the filming to get the cats to relax and get used to the set. I think that at times the animals got tired of filming and keeping active, and ended up resting, which wasn't what I intended to film. Which is why I have organised the filming to be completed over the two days to provide breaks for the cats.
Recording the rest of the footage was organised the next weekend. I used the same equipment with additional set ups for the close ups of various objects melting. I was lucky to match the weather conditions as on both weekends the conditions outside were rather gloomy, and this gave soft shadows/lighting for both subjects.
I think that settling on this date gave me Friday evening to tidy up the house so that it was ready for recording the next day. I found this very convenient as it saved time and I was able to film on same hours as the previous sessions.
I wish I could have considered the details too whilst recording as I didn't witness the hair wrapped around the cat until reviewing the footage.
Unfortunately, my mum wasn't back home until late evening, so the footage of her hands was done in the evening under artificial lighting, and this caused the subject to look out of place in comparison to the rest of the footage.
In addition to this, the camera was able to be plugged in and charging during the filming, and because there was no need for me to move long distances with the equipment, I was able to film for a very long time without exhausting its battery life. Thanks to John's room, the charger was able to stretch across his entire room, so I was able to manoeuvre to adjust to a certain angle and get the best shots possible.
Another feature that I really appreciated was the ability to zoom in or out when filming; this allowed me to capture the best moments of the cats without having to halt the recording and continue once the distance has been adjusted.
The animals were often very active, but with the Sony HXR-MC2000E it was able to focus sharply on moving objects, and produced very good quality footage even when the moment was at its most fragile.
Although I wasn't moving around a lot with the camera, its steady shot feature provided very still imagery, making future masking and editing easier. Because from my previous attempts on a similar task (matching subject and scenery shots together) I was unsuccessful due to various movement going on in the shot, and it made the editing much more difficult as I had to still the cat when trying to match the background shot.
To record the cats, I arranged a free weekend for myself and John so that I was able to come in early with the equipment ready. I had to use the entire day so that there were regular breaks between the filming to get the cats to relax and get used to the set. I think that at times the animals got tired of filming and keeping active, and ended up resting, which wasn't what I intended to film. Which is why I have organised the filming to be completed over the two days to provide breaks for the cats.
Recording the rest of the footage was organised the next weekend. I used the same equipment with additional set ups for the close ups of various objects melting. I was lucky to match the weather conditions as on both weekends the conditions outside were rather gloomy, and this gave soft shadows/lighting for both subjects.
I think that settling on this date gave me Friday evening to tidy up the house so that it was ready for recording the next day. I found this very convenient as it saved time and I was able to film on same hours as the previous sessions.
I think what I could have done better when filming the footage for the close-ups of various items melting was to have set up a better area as when I had these sections recorded, the white fabric in the background looked very creased and wrinkled, and I discovered it to be very distracting to the eye. I could have had this material ironed before attaching it to the back, but unfortunately I did not plan ahead as much as I believed would have been enough, and this left me to work with the footage I had as I didn't have the time to re-film these parts.
I wish I could have considered the details too whilst recording as I didn't witness the hair wrapped around the cat until reviewing the footage.
Unfortunately, my mum wasn't back home until late evening, so the footage of her hands was done in the evening under artificial lighting, and this caused the subject to look out of place in comparison to the rest of the footage.
